CHASER (interview w/Mike!) *Punk Lives!!*
Chaser
With a somewhat diminishing punk scene, it’s refreshing to see this five-piece So-Cal band stay true to what it’s really about. With catchy, upbeat songs and a guaranteed circle pit, you’re definitely in for a great show with these boys. Chaser brings us something that I’d love to see more of: heart and true talent. If you haven’t already, be sure to check them out and read on to see my interview with Chaser vocalist, Mike LeDonne.
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Mike LeDonne, Chaser
So you’ve completed the new album; when can we expect it to be released?
Yeah the recording process is totally done. Right now we’re kind of in the “middle ground” before we can release it. There are things to take care of such as the label situation- we’re looking to get on a different label right now so we’re shopping around- and artwork, mastering, all that good stuff. We’re looking most likely to beginning of 2010. In the meantime we’re going to start within the next month, releasing more info on it, maybe even release a new track from the album or different clips of tracks. Probably a month before we release the album, we’ll release a video from the album. We’ll keep people in the loop before the album comes out so they know what it’s going to be like.
Are you planning a nationwide tour to promote the new CD?
Yeah, we will hopefully be on the road within a month of its release, cover as much ground as possible. We just did a headlining tour that covered the Western US, we’ll make our way to the East coast after the album.
What made you want to re-record the track Sickness for the new album?
We knew it was going to be on this album, but we wanted to put the track out early. We put it out in like, beginning of summer last year cause we knew we’d be on Warped Tour, so we wanted to put out a brand new, fresh song so the Warped fans could hear it. It was a good song to have cause punk and metal fans will like it, it crosses genres. A good way to show our music to people of all music interests. It definitely worked on Warped, everyone seemed to enjoy that song. But it wasn’t the best recording so we decided to rerecord it, pretty much the same just slight differences.
How did the five of you originally come together?
Three of us met in high school, I’ve know our drummer since kindergarten. We grew up together, played T-ball together and everything. In high school, I started playing guitar and I knew Josh played drums cos he played drum line in the marching band, so I went up to him at lunch one day and was like, “Hey dude I just learned to play guitar, you play drums, lets jam sometime.†And we started jamming, doing cover songs and stuff. Nate went to high school with us, and we picked him up. It was the three of us for a long time, and then the music progressed so we knew we had to add another guitarist, better than myself so I could focus on vocals, so about 4 years ago we got Cameron and Jesse on lead guitar and bass. (The original bass player left about 4 years ago, and then we got Jesse.)
What do you say to people that say punk’s dead?
Its more just the message you put out, not so much with the actual music itself. Punk is a dying scene, we know it firsthand cos less and less people are going to shows, even with bigger bands. As people grow up, people lose touch with that type of music or want to branch out. So we create music that is punk at heart, but we ourselves have grown so our lyrics have become more personal and more than just teen angst and political issues. The music has become more diversified, but a lot of punk rock at heart. As far as it dying, I guess it depends who you asks, but in this industry, it is sadly fading, you see it in record sales and show attendance. Those that have it in their hearts will always say that punk it still alive. Personally, I think punk is alive. For us we really try to stay away from the label of “punk†cos that could fend away people who listen to more metal or alternative rock. They may tend to not even give us a shot.
What do you think about all the new genres of music? Mixing techno and metal? Screamo and rap? Etc..
I think creating new genres and really pushing musical abilities is a really good thing, after a while your fans are going to listen to your CD too much and your music will become repetitive. I really think that from a musician’s stand point, to prolong your career you really need to come up with new ways to keep it fresh and diversify within your means, but it’s good to add new elements. It’s how Linkin Park became so big, they reaped the benefits of the new genre of music. We will always be melodic punk, but we’re definitely diversifying ourselves and challenging ourselves to be better musicians. I’m pushing myself to be a much better lyricist, break away from that “punk band†label.
How difficult is it to go on tour with a family at home? Do they ever come on tour with you?
They don’t go on tour with me, but touring is the only way to make it as a band, especially at our level. The only way we’ll be known is to tour. The hard part is, at our level, we can only do so much because we aren’t as big as bands like Bad Religion or NOFX, to pay the bills to bring in income from it, so it is difficult. We all put our jobs on the line when we go on tour. As the saying goes, punk rock doesn’t pay the bills. So it’s definitely a challenge, but what makes it all worth it is the fans that do come out to see us even if it’s just 5 people, as long as they came out to see us, and traveling the country, getting to see all the sites along the way. One of the hard parts is obviously leaving home, leaving everything you have; your job, all that. But for me it’s hard cos I have a wife and two kids at home, and it’s definitely hard to leave them. It’s all part of being in a touring band, and she [my wife] is super supportive. She’s seen us grow and where we’re at now, so she’s really supportive. It’s too hard for them to come on tour with me, and it’s definitely not for most women, especially with kids. She holds it down while I’m on tour and I wouldn’t be able to do it without her, so I want to thank her for that. I actually met her at a Chaser show about eight years ago, she’s been there since day one.
Do you all get a lot of circle pits and mosh pits going on at your shows? How much do you LOVE it??
We definitely like when there’s a circle put going on, but I like watching people right up front song along with me the most. When people circle pit, that’s always welcome too. With most punk music, its all about unity and everybody’s friends, so there’s usually not any fights or anything, everyone is there for the same reason. We’ll actually stop playing if there’s a fight make sure its broken up. We encourage moshing pitting.
You all have played at venues like The House of Blues, The Glasshouse and the Warped Tour stage; what’s your favorite venue you’ve had the chance to play so far?
As far as SoCal, I personally like The Glasshouse the best. It’s got a great stage, great sound system, and it’s all ages. A cool place. Some of our favorite areas would be, just to name a few, Arizona, really cool kids out there, really receptive; Portland and Seattle, Denver, Boise… well, these are some of mine, but I’m sure the other guys would agree. It all comes down, for me, to the people that are at the shows, more than the place it self. Some places, in SoCal, are 21+ venues, and for us it cuts our fan base in half cos we have a lot of underage fans. Any decent all ages venue that has good sound.
What do you think about Jim leaving Pennywise? How do you think Zoli will do filling in at the Smokeout Festival?
It’s too bad that Jim left, obviously Pennywise will never be the same, but I’m sure he had his reasons. I don’t know what happened but he has three girls and a family and so for whatever reason I wish him the best. I think the only way they can move forward is to have someone who’s known, like Zoli, fill in. Some people will have a hard time listening to Pennywise with someone singing they’ve never heard of. I think someone like Zoli has a distinct voice, so he has a good shot at giving them a second wind.
Is there anything else going on with Chaser that you can tell me about?
Right now the immediate things we’re working on our gearing up to release our album. We’re confident that everyone’s going to love it, but we have to be sure to do a proper release. We’re gonna shoot a video and put it out a little before the CD is out. From there, we’ll work on getting a nationwide CD release tour to get out to everyone. And as far as further down the road, right when we finish putting out the album, we’ll start working on new material. We’re always writing- between me, Jesse and Cameron, we always come out with new songs. Our biggest thing is to tour as much as possible. Our biggest thing is we’re a really personal band. We come to whatever city and play to our fans, we genuinely want to meet them, we’re always at our merch booth, we’ll have a beer with anyone who wants to hang out. Fans are like, “I can’t believe you’re hanging with us!” But we’re just five guys who love making music and meeting our fans, so this new album is very personal and it really opens up to our personal lives. People will be able to relate to the lyrics and appreciate the lyrical content.
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For more on Chaser, visit:
www.myspace.com/chaser
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About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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